Ex-IRS chief knew tea party groups targeted in 2012

ASSOCIATED PRESS |
May 21, 2013
| Updated: May 21, 2013 10:43pm

former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman testifies on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) practice of targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on political leanings. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Photo By Charles Dharapak/STF

Ousted IRS Chief Steve Miller, left, and former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman arrive on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2013., to testify before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) practice of targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on political leanings. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Photo By Mel Evans/STF

Cliff Toye, of Tabernacle, holds a sign as he stands with others outside Internal Revenue Service offices Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Cherry Hill, N.J., during a tea party rally protesting extra IRS scrutiny of conservative groups. The Internal Revenue Service gave extra scrutiny to tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Photo By Evan Vucci/STF

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, before the Senate Banking Committee. Lew said the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) targeting of conservative political groups was "unacceptable and inexcusable" and he has directed the agency's acting director to hold people accountable. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Photo By Manuel Balce Ceneta/STF

Tea Party supporters gather for a rally outside the IRS headquarter in Washington, May 21, 2013. A few dozen tea party activists and their supporters have gathered outside the IRS headquarters in Washington to protest extra scrutiny of their organizations. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Photo By Matt Slocum/STF

Bernie Brunner, of Springfield, Pa., holds a flag during a tea party rally protesting extra IRS scrutiny of their groups, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Philadelphia. The Internal Revenue Service gave extra scrutiny to tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Photo By Charles Dharapak/STF

Ousted IRS Chief Steve Miller, left, and former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, prior to testifying before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) practice of targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on political leanings. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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She won't testify

A key figure in the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups plans to invoke her constitutional right against self-incrimination and decline to testify at a congressional hearing on Wednesday. Lois Lerner heads the IRS division that singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 election campaigns.

WASHINGTON - The former head of the Internal Revenue Service said he first learned in the spring of 2012 - in the heat of the presidential campaign - that agents improperly had targeted political groups that vehemently opposed President Barack Obama's policies.

"I had a partial set of facts, and I knew that the inspector general was going to be looking into it, and I knew that it was being stopped," Shulman told the Senate Finance Committee in his first public comments on the matter. "Sitting there then and sitting here today, I think I made the right decision, which is to let the inspector general get to the bottom of it, chase down all the facts and then make his findings public."

Shulman, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, left the IRS in November when his five-year term ended. His testimony makes him the top official to publicly acknowledge knowing before the presidential election that tea party groups had been targeted.

Even so, senators from both parties said they were skeptical of the version of events portrayed by Shulman and Steven Miller, his successor.